December 13, 2008

Anniversary Under the Moonlight...

2009 marks the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of a particular Ray Stevens recording that often goes over-looked. "The Moonlight Special" is a parody of a late-night TV show called The Midnight Special. In this particular recording, we hear an impressive set of impressions starting off with a stunning Wolfman Jack take off. The Wolfman for those who do not know was the show's announcer and "face" of the show during it's lengthy run. Although Wolfman was the announcer and not the "host", it's Wolfman Jack's personality and distinctive voice and fan-base from his radio listenership that made him arguably the star of that program. The song that parodies the show features Ray's vocal impressions of Wolfman Jack...howling and screaming and carrying on about the show and bringing on the acts one by one. The acts are all spoofs of pop and rock singers who made frequent appearances on The Midnight Special during the 1970's. The ironic part of this whole parody is that Ray wrote and recorded it while the show was in it's infancy...well before it developed into the show it became...for the show itself was in production for 8 and a half years, 1973-1981, and Ray's parody was released as a single in 1974, almost 35 years ago...the show was a cult hit at first but soon it became a huge hit because of it's unique air-time, late at night...90 minutes of pop and rock music performed in a studio with a different host each week and the presence of DJ Wolfman Jack as it's announcer. It aired after The Tonight Show on Friday nights...and so when Johnny Carson would say goodnight, what many viewers saw afterward was The Midnight Special.

Ray opens up the song in his own singing voice...singing the chorus of the song. He then brings on The Sheepdog...his version of Wolfman Jack. Amidst thunderous applause, Sheepdog crams a series of slang expressions together "crazy, too cool, outta sight, right on, and far out!" and welcomes everyone to the show and brings out the night's first guest. Satirizing the sound of Gladys Knight and the Pips, we're treated to Mildred Queen and the Dips. The group sings a nonsense song...Mildred leading the vocals with the Dips repeating everything she says word for word. After becoming frustrated by the repeaters, she screams...only to have the Dips scream in harmony. Sheepdog comes in asking for applause "how 'bout that all you dudes and chickies out there...yeah!!!". After Sheepdog informs everyone what they're experiencing, The Moonlight Special, we hear a more rushed Ray Stevens singing the chorus again in his natural voice as Sheepdog talks over the chorus...concluding with a series of howls.

Sheepdog then brings out the bizarre/alternative rock act...Agnes Stupor and his Chicken. This is a parody of Alice Cooper, who was known for having snakes in his performances. Agnes, however, regals the audience with a bizarre tale that allows listeners to wonder if he's in his right mind...implying about the streaking/flashing craze that was going on "yeah, flash an old lady now!" and then telling us about painting the living room carpet. A completely nutty act that's for sure. Sheepdog returns asking for applause...then we hear Ray singing the chorus once again as Sheepdog informs everyone that they're listening and watching The Moonlight Special.

The closing act, usually reserved for a legend or a classic, features the piano rocking appearance of a Jerry Lee Lewis spoof. Ray incorporates several Jerry Lee-type vocals during the piano rocking...which include a passage where Jerry plays with his feet...hollering and screaming all the while as Sheepdog marvels at the display...

The song comes to a close with Sheepdog thanking everyone for coming to the show and thanks everyone for listening and watching and reminds everyone to tune in next time for The Moonlight Special and he ends by making a series of howls. As this is going on, in the background we hear cheers and claps and Ray's natural voice singing the chorus once again.

The song is a wonderfully produced record...in pop music circles it may even be considered a "gimmick record". Critics and radio people alike often frown on novelty records and records with a gimmick...but thankfully i'm not a professional critic nor am I a radio insider. All kidding aside, though, it's a well-crafted song putting to good use the over-dubbing process. I am not sure but I think Ray is one of the first acts in Top-40 music who used over-dubbing way back before it became so common today in all forms of entertainment...if he wasn't the first he certainly has my vote as the artist who used over-dubbing to it's maximum effect. It is highly unlikely that Ray ever performed this song in concert...the multi-tracking and over-dubbing is not easily duplicated in concert or even on a TV show. The single hit the Hot 100, peaking in the Top-80. It would be perhaps impossible for any of his singles to over-shadow "The Streak"...a monster #1 pop hit for Ray earlier in 1974 that was still selling and getting feedback throughout the rest of the year...so I don't even think Barnaby Records or Ray himself was seriously looking to top "The Streak" but "The Moonlight Special" is a funny recording all the same and it showcases Ray's various talents with his broad vocal impressions.

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About Me

I'm a big fan of what's called classic country music. I love the HEE-HAW television program and I like watching vintage cartoons. I have four blogs...the main one is devoted to Ray Stevens. My Ray Stevens blog is written from a fan's perspective. The opinions and expressions discussed in this blog are of my own creation and should not be taken as representation of Ray Stevens and his office staff. I'm simply a dedicated, though opinionated, fan of Ray's who likes discussing his music and career. This fan-created blog page is something that I started when I got fed up with the lack of accurate information about Ray Stevens that was circulating on the internet.

2012

The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music became available on February 28th; It's an impressive set featuring 9-CD's and a booklet; There are 108 recordings altogether and the booklet gives in-depth detail about each of the songs and their impact on society; Ray covers practically all the major comedy/novelty songs that have been recorded over the last 60 plus years; It's a marvelous collection!!

2014

Ray's memoir, Nashville, is a great book! If you don't have a copy I suggest you purchase one...any fan of Ray Stevens should get this book.

2016

Ray's recording, "Dear America", demonstrates that America is still the greatest country on Earth regardless of internal conflicts and imperfections; A loving tribute to the country and a defiant plea that the country's values and traditions should still continue to be championed and fought for; Excellent recording!

2017

Season One DVD of Ray's television series; It contains the first 13 episodes broadcast on local PBS stations from earlier this year; These episodes originally aired on RFD-TV but they were repeated on PBS stations starting this past January; Some local PBS stations aired all 26 episodes from the RFD run while other local PBS stations aired the first 13 episodes and then began airing the PBS exclusives which became available over the summer months; Future DVD releases are expected.

2017

Season Two of the Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville series; This volume consists of episodes guest starring the likes of Bill Anderson, Con Hunley, Williams and Ree, Leroy Van Dyke, and many more!! A perfect companion to Season One; Each season contains 13 half hour episodes.

2018

The Ray Stevens CabaRay Showroom officially opened to the public on January 18, 2018; This date is signifcant in the career of Ray Stevens in that it's the date he arrived in Nashville in 1962; The facility houses an entire array of entertainment from the main showroom to a piano bar, a gift shop, and it also houses his recording studios for audio and video productions; The upcoming Sixth Season of his PBS television series, CabaRay Nashville, is being taped at the showroom; These episodes represent the first to be taped at the venue.